Player Discussion The Slaf Thread - Parabolic Growth Edition

[Plastic Joseph]

Kids get paid way too much for doing Jack shit and it’s pathetic on both sides. I don’t fault him , I’d take the money too.

He doesn’t even look like he cares

50 pts at age 19 = Jack shit.


Got it.


It was a gamble (obviously, it always it), but the returns are far from over yet, he's not even in his contract yet and hes 20

 

[Bombshell11]

50 pts at age 19 = Jack shit.


Got it.


It was a gamble (obviously, it always it), but the returns are far from over yet, he's not even in his contract yet and hes 20

Donato is on pace to produce more... he makes 2 mil a year.

50 pts is nothing to be impressed with on a first line and no one cares if he's 20 or 40.

 

[Erika]

I don’t understand. Does posting the names and pictures of other random players make Slafkovsky play better and move his feet?

If you think they are random players, then Slaf is probably a lost cause for you at 20 years old.
All the names I posted were highly touted young players/prospects... I assumed most people here follow young players around the NHL, not just Habs players right....
All of them are still struggling and are having bad /subpar season so far. All of them are ranging from 19 to 22 except for Lafrenière who's already 23 years and still struggling.

If you want to give up on a 20 years old first overall kid who's still probably the first/second best player of his draft class then go ahead and start panicking, but reality is, Slafkovsky will still be developing until 25-26 years old. He's a long term project, not a Sydney Crosby.

 

[River Meadow]

50 pts at age 19 = Jack shit.


Got it.


It was a gamble (obviously, it always it), but the returns are far from over yet, he's not even in his contract yet and hes 20

Finally someone who gets it.

We're lucky Slaf didn't ask for 9-10M+

 

[HabsCowboysOwn]

The decision to draft him was a massive gamble in the first place so they doubled down and gave him that big contract, which makes sense. It will either age like fine wine or like a glass of milk you forgot on the counter for 3 days in the middle of July.

One solid half season sandwiched between long periods of lethargic, worrisome play is not enough to act like he's a sure thing. He isn't, no need to stick our heads in the sand. But he's only 20 so he deserves a few more years to show he has the ability (and will) to work on his weaknesses and become a force for us.

 

[Stoneburg]

We are analyzing a contract that hasn't even started yet: Holly, premature Batman.

 

[River Meadow]

The decision to draft him was a massive gamble in the first place so they doubled down and gave him that big contract, which makes sense. It will either age like fine wine or like a glass of milk you forgot on the counter for 3 days in the middle of July.

One solid half season sandwiched between long periods of lethargic, worrisome play is not enough to act like he's a sure thing. He isn't, no need to stick our heads in the sand. But he's only 20 so he deserves a few more years to show he has the ability (and will) to work on his weaknesses and become a force for us.

Doubled down on him not requiring any time in the AHL whatsoever. He obviously has nothing in his game that he needs to work on, so that would have been silly...

Doubled down on the contract. Which technically made sense if he continued his good stretch, however he only showed that for a few months (Jan to March?!), and has now ceased to be that guy.

He's 20 so anything can happen at this point, but if it were up to me, he would have started his career in the AHL, and it would have been up to him to work his way into the NHL, whenever he would be ready.

 

[River Meadow]

I don't like all the speculation that he's partying too much or entitled or whatever. Montreal is a small town, if he was spending too much time out at the clubs we would know about it.

He's just bad at hockey. He's gone on hot streaks only to revert to looking like he has no idea what he's doing for years now. The game is too fast for him. No reason to smear the kid, the truth is bad enough.

Based af

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

should have been a bridge contract , dont care if he gets 50 points , dude is getting carried by his teammates.

 

[River Meadow]

Slafkovsky will still be developing until 25-26 years old. He's a long term project, not a Sydney Crosby.

Then why did we just sign him to a 7.6 million dollar a year contract for the next 8yrs?

Obviously Habs mgnmt were expecting him to continue on as he did in 2nd half of last year and thought they better lock him up ASAP.

If they thought he was such a long term project as you say, who would peak in approx. 6 years from now, surely they would have signed him to a lesser dollar figure?

 

[JIMVINNY]

Then why did we just sign him to a 7.6 million dollar a year contract for the next 8yrs?

Obviously Habs mgnmt were expecting him to continue on as he did in 2nd half of last year and thought they better lock him up ASAP.

If they thought he was such a long term project as you say, who would peak in approx. 6 years from now, surely they would have signed him to a lesser dollar figure?

Ideally, he's earning his contract by year 3, and way under-earning/over-performing in the last few years of the deal. That's when the cups will come. Afterwards, we'll lose him to free agency, but we'll get the best of him at a price the next team will have to pay.

 

[ReHabs]

Slaf is probably a lost cause for you at 20 years old.

My comments are up on the last few pages.

It’s a discussion forum, you can read what others say without having to assume any things.

If you want to give up on a 20 years old first overall kid who's still probably the first/second best player of his draft class

He’s playing badly now. Today. Yesterday. This whole season. We’re discussing his regression this year compared to last year — in playing style and in production.

He’s been lectured by Kent Hughes, he’s been benched by MSL. It’s not yet the 50% mark of the season.

It’s super easy to get up on a tall box and insist that good things will come in the future for this player or that player. I’m certain you were a real believer in Kostitsyn’s upside, and Galchenyuk’s, and Kotkaniemi’s. Truly.

 

[ReHabs]

Ideally, he's earning his contract by year 3, and way under-earning/over-performing in the last few years of the deal. That's when the cups will come. Afterwards, we'll lose him to free agency, but we'll get the best of him at a price the next team will have to pay.

The Habs did not think or expect he would lay an egg this year. So any notion that everything is going fine and this season of his is going as expected is clearly incorrect.

Hughes gave him a mega contract because he wanted to secure the Slaf that we all saw in the second half of last year. Not a play driver but an incredible part of a line combo.

Where is that Slaf — who is this Slaf who gets lectured by the GM and gets scratched? Are we stuck with this guy? I want the other Slaf back.

 

[RationalExpectations]

To some extent I understand why they signed him to this Extension : 1st line signed for 4 years below 8m per player, signal that Suzuki remains the ceiling for drafted players at this stage.

That being Said, I don t like it and I would have gone with a 2x3/4 Type of bridge because there are three scenarios post 2y bridge :
- he becomes the next Jagr and asks for 13m : I don t see that happening
- he becomes a true PPG 1st liner and not a complementary piece and asks for 9-10m : possible and you d pay 2m more than you do today
- he remains a complementary piece with 50/60 and gets paid as a second liner, I.e. 4-6m : central scenario to me and you would pay 2/3m less than you do now
- he becomes a bust and you release him : unlikely but you are protected against this tail risk

In the two Most Pessimist stances of the world, how do you justify paying Heineman or other good bottom 6er at reasonable cap hits ? How much do you pay Demidov if he becomes a Superstar ?

I am a Habs fan so of course I Hope he will be as good as possible and deserve that contract, just saying it seems risky given the product on the ice.

 

[InsideLaine]

Posted my thoughts on replacing Slaf with Laine here instead: Line Combos: - Post-preseason lines, who makes the cut?

 

[Guess]

I'm not worried about Slaf because the biggest change between this year and last is something that's not skill related, it's his intense forecheck/backcheck that's now absent. Unless something drastic has changed in our style of play, I'd wager he'll get his mojo back once he can do that again. He was like that before we drafted him too, so I wouldn't be worried, he's just low confidence, he's either injured or just needs to mature and handle adversity better.

 

[InsideLaine]

What I remember about Slaf when he played in Finland was that he was cocky as f*** (imo good thing if it doesnt go totally over), he was also raw, and he still feels the same to me. And he is just 20, Im not surprised. Some very minor similarities to Pulju are present in the way Slaf can be perceived as a whole, but I dont see him doing a Pulju, mostly due to already achieving more than Pulju ever did in his career.

I do think Slaf needs to go to lower lines for a while though. I will post suggestion on the Line combos thread.

 

[Archijerej]

The Habs did not think or expect he would lay an egg this year. So any notion that everything is going fine and this season of his is going as expected is clearly incorrect.

Hughes gave him a mega contract because he wanted to secure the Slaf that we all saw in the second half of last year. Not a play driver but an incredible part of a line combo.

Where is that Slaf — who is this Slaf who gets lectured by the GM and gets scratched? Are we stuck with this guy? I want the other Slaf back.

I clearly remember Hughes saying he expects Slafkovsky to be struggling at some points in the future. It was said in the context of Slaf's mental makeup and how it gives the management confidence that he'll be able to overcome those struggles. The basic message was that his terrific play in the second half of last season should not be the expectation for such a young player.

You should really make up your mind about Slafkovsky. Commenting on the player's current poor form is absolutely fair play and I value your ability to look past the fan hype in such cases.

That said, once you bring up the contract and potential strategic mistakes by the management...well, you've been down this path before with Slafkovsky, haven't you?

 

[cave troll]

1.25 shots per game???
We all know what the problem is. He is not a hungry player and his preferred position is being the waterboy for CC and Suzuki and leeching some points here and there.
With the arrival of Demidov he'll drop down to 2nd or 3rd line and be even more inefficient........if he doesn't start to fu**** shoot.

 

[InsideLaine]

What I remember about Slaf when he played in Finland was that he was cocky as f*** (imo good thing if it doesnt go totally over), he was also raw, and he still feels the same to me. And he is just 20, Im not surprised. Some very minor similarities to Pulju are present in the way Slaf can be perceived as a whole, but I dont see him doing a Pulju, mostly due to already achieving more than Pulju ever did in his career.

I do think Slaf needs to go to lower lines for a while though. I will post suggestion on the Line combos thread.

Posted some line combos suggestions with Slaf and others as per the post above here: Line Combos: - Post-preseason lines, who makes the cut?

 

[ReHabs]

I clearly remember Hughes saying he expects Slafkovsky to be struggling at some points in the future. It was said in the context of Slaf's mental makeup and how it gives the management confidence that he'll be able to overcome those struggles. The basic message was that his terrific play in the second half of last season should not be the expectation for such a young player.

Slaf looked outstanding in the second half of last season. If Hughes cautioned against expecting even more, then sure -- it's only fair to calm expectations.

But this year, Slaf is not good.

You should really make up your mind about Slafkovsky. Commenting on the player's current poor form is absolutely fair play and I value your ability to look past the fan hype in such cases.

I want Slaf to play like he did last year. His deployment has not changed, his Ozone starts, he is shovelled PP time... why shouldn't we expect good things from him? Can he only bring himself to perform when he's next to Suzuki?

The underlying issue is not complicated: he looks bad on the ice.

Does it make sense to be Habs fans and keep having such painfully low expectations of players and the team?

That said, once you bring up the contract and potential strategic mistakes by the management...well, you've been down this path before with Slafkovsky, haven't you?

In your opinion, what's the best course of action for a fan to comment on Slafkovsky? What are the acceptable parameters for the commentary?

 

[nhlfan9191]

I clearly remember Hughes saying he expects Slafkovsky to be struggling at some points in the future. It was said in the context of Slaf's mental makeup and how it gives the management confidence that he'll be able to overcome those struggles. The basic message was that his terrific play in the second half of last season should not be the expectation for such a young player.

You should really make up your mind about Slafkovsky. Commenting on the player's current poor form is absolutely fair play and I value your ability to look past the fan hype in such cases.

That said, once you bring up the contract and potential strategic mistakes by the management...well, you've been down this path before with Slafkovsky, haven't you?

Did they really say the bolded? That just seems like such a strange statement for them to make, especially when he was coming off a high last season and a nice big contract extension.

 

[Archijerej]

Did they really say the bolded? That just seems like such a strange statement for them to make, especially when he was coming off a high last season and a nice big contract extension.

The first part I remember as clear as day from one of Hughes' pressers. I believe it was around the time when Slaf signed his new contract. The rest I'm inferring from the context.

In your opinion, what's the best course of action for a fan to comment on Slafkovsky? What are the acceptable parameters for the commentary?

I'm as annoyed as you are when someone tries to quash a discussion with a generic "he's young" and "have patience" comment. It's perfectly reasonable to comment on any player's poor form. I'm also not against critically analyzing the player's game on a deeper level and making projections, as long as there's some data and logical argument behind it.

 

[Archijerej]

I want Slaf to play like he did last year. His deployment has not changed, his Ozone starts, he is shovelled PP time... why shouldn't we expect good things from him? Can he only bring himself to perform when he's next to Suzuki?

Yes. At this point of his developmental curve, he is best served as the 3rd wheel on a line with good players. The same as Xhekaj only looks like an NHL player when he's supported by a veteran.

The underlying issue is not complicated: he looks bad on the ice.

That's not the underlying issue. That's the outer symptom.

There's been a lot of spiteful comments about this kid's skill level, but that's just ignoring the evidence that was right in front of our eyes last season. Slafkovsky can absolutely rip it and dish it and he has (had) enough mobility and smarts to find space. He's not doing that this year (finding space) and that's where the discussion about underlying issues should start.

My working hypothesis is that the orgasmic endorsement he received last year got to his head and affected his mental and physical preparation for this season. These are fixable things, unless we're dealing with a fundamentally flawed character, but the latter goes against everything we've heard about Juraj since he was drafted.

 

[Pat Riot]

Slaf look like a tourist on the ice. With one hand on his hockey stick and the other hand in the air like he is a waiter bringing you a fancy drink. His positionning is weak, he need to be way more agressive. He fumble the puck and lose battle way too often. He is not a finish product but hes having a hard time reading the play.